Have been away for WAY too long, and am glad to be back..got a private message from someone here and dear to me, and they wondered where I have been...so, I decided it was high time to check in. Really, what I wanted to tell you is that if you do what you love, love what you do, practice and be "there"..good things happen. A little about me, most of you know, I joined the Labs, a couple of years ago, with my first camera..a Cannon 40D. With hopes and dreams. And not alot of knowledge. Like the old Jimi Hendrix song..."I know what I want, but I just don't know how to go about gettin' it". Gordon, Bob, Defiance, Bjorn, Thomas...Wolfie, KPR, all dear to me, kept me going, as I tried, failed, grieved over my lack of skill, and failed some more. And I learned. By trial and error. Today, I am employed by a small equine magazine, based in Colorado, not on salary, (yet)..but I will be there..I WILL..right now I free lance..for cheap...and am becoming known in "my" industry..have had several "cover" shots, and have even written brief articles to go along with the photos..mind you a very limited audience, but PAID, and published work..so, I am thrilled. Do I know what I am doing? No, not always..but I have learned, alot, and still have more trash then treasures, but, the margin is getting mo' better...I learned, like the boys here said... "buying the best lenses pays off"..that behaving as if you already "own" it, works. That being kind and gracious, to other photographers, is something important. This is after all, just one two hundreth of a second, not the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. And I still have not mastered photoshop, very well. But, I am alive, and kicking, and coming back...because I have missed you all, and my beloved Duck o' da day...am gonna go check that out, right now.

Oh Hi Patti, how wonderful to see you back on the labs, i had wondered why we hadnt seen or heard its been absolutely ages since you last posted. Its lovely to hear about what you have been doing and achieved, so hearty congrats to you on your job and getting your work published. I too would be thrilled if it were me. Wish you all the very best and dont leave it so long til you post again.
Kind regards
Sue

Ah haaa..the prodigal Patti is back How wonderful to see you here again! Sounds like you have taken your interest far and are still taking it further. Great to hear!

I hope you will be willing to share some samples with us - I for one would love to see many of your pictures if you will share them.

And I'm hoping you will find CL just as inviting, welcoming and friendly as when you left it. Many other enthusiasts have joined our ranks while you have been gone. Many questions asked and discussions ensued - and of course the Gordon's library of excellent reviews have grown to encompass the many exciting developments on the camera front.

Many Assignments have come and gone and dare I say that the caliber of photos a constantly evolving - lots of creativity.

Also, the guidelines for image-size has been adjusted up so that we can now share shots in glorious 1024 pixels tall or wide!

PS - if you'd like to promote your photographic work (and this applies to everyone), you really need to start building a following on Google+. We can sort you out with an invite if you need one, and then you can even join us for a chat on our hangouts! (see http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27998)